New Member’s Story - Scott Hills

My interest in Jaguars started when I was 8 (1979), as my family had friends that owned a burgundy XJ6 S2. To me this car was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. My mates I went to school with thought I was weird, as I didn’t own a Ford or Holden jacket and to my disgust, couldn’t find a Jaguar jacket!

I have never been a member of JDCSA, however, when I was a young Banker my business mentor and friend - Tim White was/is a serious Jaguar enthusiast and collector. Tim encouraged me to attend a few JDCSA field days in order to learn more about Jag culture and the many different Jaguars on the market.

When I originally met Tim, I was in my thirties and a father of 2 young children, with a hefty mortgage! The dream of owning a Jaguar couldn’t be achieved then, however, Tim and I continued to stay in touch over the years and he would share photos and experiences of his collection. My children are now in their twenties and no longer take my weekends and money, so several months ago I woke up one morning and decided it was time to finally adopt one of those beautiful XJ6 S2’s!

My Father and older brother always had Valliant’s and Holden V8’s, so I knew my way around those motors, so when a beautiful crossbred 1977 XJ6 S2 Jaguar with a 350 Chevy conversion came on the market, I knew it was the right time to dip my toe in the water.

My Jaguar is now affectionately named “The Jag” and even though the paint work is terrible and many internal instruments don’t work, I still find myself washing and polishing this beauty like it was the finest vehicle in all of Australia. Over the Easter long weekend, I took her for a cruise around the Adelaide Hills and needed to fill up with petrol, when I came out of the service station after paying, I was amazed to see that “The Jag” was surrounded by people admiring everything about her, and to me that was pretty cool!

I don’t know a lot about “The Jag” other than she is Ox blood red with good interior and little rust, however, most importantly she reminds me of when I was 8 years old, she reminds me of my Father and brother, she also reminds me of being a father and has given me an excuse to reach out to my old mentor.

Cheers

Scott Hills

Editor: Thank you Scott for contributing your story to Classic Marque. There are a number of V8 powered XJ’s in the club now. Keep this up and you will be able to form your own Register. Hope to see you at club events with your car to check out the mighty Chev motor.